Regularly prolonged or highly irregular daytime napping is associated with a significant increase in the risk of premature death. Thus, daytime naps may also provide insight into life expectancy.

In a new study conducted by experts from Harvard Medical School, researchers examined the impact of daytime napping on mortality risk. The results were published in the journal SLEEP.

The study analyzed data from 86,565 participants of the UK Biobank project, who were not shift workers and had an average age of 63, reports Planet Today. Their activity was recorded over seven days using actigraphy wristbands, which track movement and thus allow conclusions to be drawn about sleep behavior.

Researchers defined daytime naps as sleep episodes occurring between 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Over the course of up to eleven years of medical follow-up, a total of 5,189 participants died, representing 6% of the cohort.

The average duration of daytime naps among participants was approximately 24 minutes per day. Strikingly, people with longer, more frequent, or highly variable naps had a significantly higher risk of death, according to the study.

“Interestingly, the data indicating risks associated with daytime and early daytime napping contradict our current knowledge. Therefore, further research into this link is needed,” emphasized study author Chenlu Gao.

The findings shed new light on the importance of short daytime naps in assessing health risks among older adults. They also highlight the need to consider daytime napping more broadly.

“The implementation of actigraphy-based nap analysis in clinical and public health practice could open new opportunities for early detection of risks and personalized interventions aimed at increasing life expectancy,” said Gao. In the long term, targeted analysis of nap duration may help identify individual health risks at an early stage.

The study also stresses that if you regularly feel the need for extended daytime sleep, you should seek medical advice, especially if accompanied by other symptoms such as persistent fatigue or sleep disturbances.

While short but regular naps may be beneficial, those prone to long and irregular naps should critically assess this pattern. Regular daytime fatigue may indicate underlying health problems.